Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Sold by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. decreased its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 65.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,500 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 8,596 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in Lazard were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LAZ. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Lazard by 2,053.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,104 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 4,867 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Lazard by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 12,460 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 4,178 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 5,770.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $53,626,000 after buying an additional 1,046,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 25,944 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Lazard Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $45.75. 893,407 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 887,616. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $50.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.78. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Lazard's payout ratio is 75.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Lazard Profile

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.